Electric signaling apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. W. SOUTHWORTH.

ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS.

No. 267,945. A Patented Nov. 21, 1882.

N. PETERS. momm m. Wahington. n. c.

(No Model.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. W. SOUTHWORTH. I ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS.

No. 267,945. Patented Nov. 21, 1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'HORATIO W. SOUTHWORTH, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

,ELECTRIC SIGNALING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 267,945, dated November 21, 1882.

' Application filed J one 12, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HORATIO W. SOUTH- WORTH, a'citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Signaling Apparatus, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for transmitting electric signals in which are employed magnetic needles or bars, which are caused to be deflected by sending an electric current throngh a coil surrounding said needle or bar; and it consists in improved I 5 means for governing the vibratory movements -of the needle, for establishing by means of the motion of said needle more positive signaling-connections at the stations, for increasin g the effectiveness of this class of signaling apparatus, and for governing the needle-deflecting current to cause a simultaneous and equal deflection of all the needles on one circuit.

In the drawings forming part of this specifi- 2 5 cation, Figure l is a plan view of an electric signalingapparatus, togetherwith its connectling-wires, adapted to the requiremen ts of a main station, embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is aview of one of said instruments adapted 0 to the requirements of a way-station. 'Fig. 3

illustrates the above-mentioned instruments, together with their several connections, when they are located one at a central or main station and the other at a Way-station. Fig. 4

3 5 illustrates the arrangement of the commutator and directly-connected devices relative to the table and the magnetic bar.

This inventin'n is in the nature of an improvement upon that shown and described in 40 my United States Patent of August 8, 1882,

a pivoted magnetic bar.

post f. n is a commutator-arm on said post. z z are contact-arms on arm n 1 2 3 are contact-pins, 2 being shown in dotted lines on postf. a is a stop-pin in table A. b is a graduator. s is a wire coiled on the graduator b. 2: indicates pins in said graduator. a is a graduator-connector. m is aspring-switch. m as are contact-pins. h is a signal-bell. Kis a battery.

The table A is constructed of radial form preferably, and supports on-one edge a coilframe, around which is Wound a coil, B, of fine wire.v Said coil-frame is constructed-With a transverse opening therethrongh, and in the lower side thereof is set a proper vertical pivot, upon which is adjusted, in the usual manner, the oscillating or vibrating magnetic bard, to which is secured, at right angles thereto, the arm 0, having hung on the end thereof the freelyswinging pendulous metallic connecting-wire 6 On the top of said coil B is secured the permanent magnet c for the purpose of determining the direction N S more strongly than the magnetic force of the earth alone will do. Consequently the movements of the magnetic bar (1 are more prompt.

The table A is provided (that of the instrument of the central office) with two series of graduation marks and numbers each side of a central point on its border, while the instrument of the way-station is provided with one series only, and the end of arm 0 carrying the connecting-wire e swings back and forth over said table and said graduation-marks thereon.

For the purpose of providing suitable means to co-operate with the vibratory arm 6 and the pendulous wire 6 thereon,whereby said arm shall be caused to stop at certain points over the face of table A, and thereby effect such an electric connection as will ring a bell or operate other signals, the wires 0 and o are socured in an insulated position in said table, proj ectin g above the surface thereof, having their upper ends bent at right angles thereto, and forming an opening therebetween of V-shape, which at its narrowest part is of less Width than the diameter of said pendulous wire 6 The outer one of said wires, 0, has a longer arm than theinside one, 0 and is curved outwardly; but the end thereof is bent inward past the point over table A, atwhich the end of wire 0 stands. The said point of wire 0 is located about on the circumferential line described by too the pendulous wire 6 when arm 6 swings over table A, while, as above stated, the end of wire ois inside of that line. One of said wires is, as shown, connected with the batteryK, and one with the alarm-bellh, or other suitable signal device, or for forming a connection for utilizing a localcurrent, and a wire from-said bell connects it with the opposite pole of said battery. Said two wires in the central-office instrument are located beyond the aforesaid graduating marks and numbers, near .to said coil frame; and when table A is provided with duplicate series of said marks and numbers said wires 0 o are duplicated on the table, as shown in Fig. 1, andthe connections of both pairs thereof with the bell and the battery are common.

A spring-switch, m, is secured to a connection-post, m, on the base 1), and is adapted to spring against a connection post, so, there resting until it is swung away from it against the post as.

For the purpose of better controlling the force of the electric current which actuates the instruments on a circuit, a graduator, b, is connected with the central-office instrument, consisting of a coil of fine wire, 3, wound spirally around a cylinder, and at each turn wound around one of pins o therein. Along each side of said pins are fixed two strips, 4;, to form a groove therebetween, as shown in Fig.1. Only one end of wire 8 on said graduator is permanently connected with the instrument, and that is attached to a wire, 10, leading from battery K to post 00.

A portable graduator-connector, a is connected by a suitable wire to a wire, 11, running from the opposite pole of battery K to that with which wire sis connected. Said connector a consists of a handle of insulating material, having fixed in it a metallic support for a. metallic wheel, 1", the wire connecting said connector with said wire 10 being connected with the metallic support of said wheel.

The connecting-wires 0 0 located on table A of the instruments are, in those of the outlying stations, fixed at the number on said table which corresponds with the numbers of the stations.

The several connections of instruments, alarm-bell, battery, commutator, and switch are clearly shown in the drawings, and will be easily understood by one skilled in the art.

For the purpose of changing the direction of the current through the coils B of the instrume'nt, whereby the arm 6, carried by the magnetic bar d, may be caused to vibrate either to the right or to the left for the purpose of establishing connections upon lines running out from either side of the instrument, an ordinary coinmutator is established under table A, which is operated by the. rotating post f, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.. The arms Mon said post f serve, when arm eis adapted to vibrate in both directions over table A, to restrain the said vibrations so that they shall be in the de sired direction only by turning said post so that one of said arms acts as a stop to arm e at the center of said table. The arms at n on post f strike a pin set in table A and deter-.

The instruments at the outlying stations are.

provided with a permanent stop pin setin table A about in the posit-ion of postf, so that arm 0 may be caused to vibrate only between said stop-pin and the side of said coil-frame, moving over said numbers and said wires 0 0 Referring to Fig. 1, wire 10 connects battery K and coil B through the commutator f and post a: and wire 13. Wire 11 connects the opposite pole of the battery through said comm utator with post 00 and a branch, 12, through an intermediate connection with 11, connects bell h with the battery. A branch,-14=, from wire 10 connects the wire 0 an table A with the battery. Wire 15 connects arm 0, likewise on table A,with the hell it. Wire 13 connects coil B with post 00, and through swit/n m with the line-wire 17. Line-wire 16 is connected directly with coil B. Inoperating from central station swinging switch at from post a: to x (the lines 16 and 17 being connected simply or through a way-station instrument) causes the current to circulate from the battery outward through wire 10, coilB, and line 16, andinward through line 17, switch at, and wire 11,

back to battery. The contact of the pendulous wire 6 with the arms of the wires 0 o closes a,

circuit from battery through wires 14, 15, 12, and 11, in which bell h is connected. The outlying instruments, being connected in lines 16 last-named station is deflected. Said battery K, Fig. 3, is a local battery of the way-station.

The operation of the above-described devices is as follows: To call from an outlying station,

the switch at of that station is swung from post 00 to w, establishing a current through all of the coils B in the circuit. The said current in its full strength will throw out all the bars d in the circuit to their utmost limit. The central-oflice instrument, having its wires 0 0 located as above described and shown, will thus have its alarm-bell connection established by the dropping of the pendulous wire e on arm 0 between the said wires as said arm begins its retrograde movement,while the bars of all the outlyin g sta tions, as soon as the current is broken by the calling station, will drop back without making any connections with wires 0 0 because said pendulous wire, as bar a swings back,will strike the curved end of wire 0, which guards the point of wire 0 and be carried outside of the former, and thus be prevented from being caught between said wires so as to form a connection. Supposing,now, that the central oflice is requested to call station 11, it moves switch m to post as, inserting at the same time the graduator-connector wheelrbetween the strips '11 and against the ends of the pins v, inthe graduator. This offers a side connection to the current, and in proportion as its resistance is increased the current through this side connection will becomevdiminished, and thereby the current through the main line be strengthened more and more. By giving at the start little resistance to thegraduator, almost the full current will takeits way through the side. connection, and but very little will pass through the line. The magnetic bars 01 will in consequence be deflected very slightly at the commencement. If, now, the resistance 3 in the graduatorbe increased, the current in the main line will increase, and slowly the bars e d will be deflected more and more. All the bars in the circuit will move alike. As soon as the bar, of the central office has passed N o. 11 a on table A, the bar at station 11 has gone beyond the end of the wire 0 thereat, and the central-office operator now interrupts the current, and all the bars d in the circuit will fall back, except that at station 11, whose pendulous wire will drop between said wires 0 0 Thus the local battery of station 1.1 becomes connected with the bell h, and that bell only on1the circuit will ring. To remove said pend ulous wire from between the wires 0 0 itis only required to give a full current to the line by switch at main office, when arm 6 will swing away from said wires and then drop back, carrying wire 0 outside of 'wire 0, as above de scribed.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination of a series of instruments in circuit, each having an electric signaling apparatus,'magnetic bar 01 supporting the arm,

0, to which is suspended the wire 6 and the separated connection-wires o0, set in different positions in the different instruments, coil B, magnetc,and means,substantiallyas described, for sending an electric current through all of said coils simultaneously, substantially as described.

2. The combination ofa series of instruments in a circuit, each having an electric signaling apparatus, magnetic bar cl, supporting arm 6,

nected with said bell and a battery, coil 13,.

magnetc,and means, substantially as described,

for sending an electric current through said coil, substantially as described.

HORATIO W. soUrHwoRTH. Witnesses:

CHARLES MAYER, H. A. GHAPIN. 

